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October 20 marked the last day of the 2013 McDonald Cadet Leadership Conference at the United States Military Academy at West Point. As the name implies, the event brought together emerging student leaders from premier academic institutions around the world and West Point’s very own leaders-in-training. Immediately apparent were the students’ and cadets’ diverse backgrounds and understandings of the challenges that face the leaders of tomorrow.

To better understand why this was so, the civilian students present asked the cadets to explain the manner with which they approach leadership at West Point. The cadets proceeded to recite by memory the academy’s declared mission to develop in each cadet “a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service.” When asked to answer the same question, the students fumbled with an amalgam of words and phrases that they felt best represented their respective institutions’ aims and values. One student looked up the stated objectives of his own school, which aims to prepare students “to ask tough questions, cross disciplinary boundaries, and challenge conventional thinking to enrich human life around the globe.” It was clear that our educations, and with them the principles that our institutions have sought to instill in us, differ.

While everyone at the conference was distinct in their particular ambitions and intents, they shared the ability and desire to take up the mantle of leadership to tackle the unique issues that we as a generation will have to confront. It was here that we realized relations between civilian and military leadership can be limited to “as-needed” interactions rather than focusing on sustained partnerships that exchange best practices and share knowledge. Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke of the “fragile and increasingly distant relationship that exists between America and those who’ve volunteered to her defense.” The benefits of increased engagement between society’s civilian and military leaderships could prove vital in equipping the leaders of tomorrow with the tools they need to succeed.

In recent years, the military has struggled to retain some of its most capable officers, particularly due to organizational inflexibility and failure to identify and reward individual performance and creativity. Often an officer’s rank and income are determined by the number of years in service, rather than talent or capability, which gives exceptional young officers little opportunity to distinguish themselves through military service. This is an area where the military could learn from the private sector. Companies such as General Electric often employ evaluation mechanisms to identify and recompense their most talented and innovative leadership with increased attention, opportunities, and personalized development.

Likewise, our civilian leadership have a lot to learn from the military’s team-building exercises, clear communication of objectives to stakeholders, and the development of a well-defined chain of command. West Point graduate and former Army officer Donna McAleer drew from each of these military-specific skillsets as executive director of the healthcare non-profit People’s Health Clinic (PHC). As a result, she was able to take a non-profit in financial distress and provide it with the capability to thrive well into the future. The impact her leadership has had on PHC will be felt for years to come as the organization continues to reduce the burden that preventable, non-emergency care places on local hospitals.

Just as today’s students are asked to acknowledge an increasingly interconnected world and encouraged to learn from other cultures, they must also strive to reach across professional sectors within their own societies and learn from each other’s experiences, successes, and drawbacks. Only then will our leaders, whether CEOs, government officials, or military officers, be fully prepared to take on the challenges of tomorrow.

The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the position of the United States Military Academy, the Department of the Army, or the Department of Defense.